Leave No Trace

“Leave it better than you found it” I could hear my mom saying. That was her answer any time I asked if my cleaning was done yet. I’ve taken this phrase to heart in much more than just cleaning these days. I feel it’s very important we apply this thought to the world around us. I feel like we’re all so determined to leave our mark, we don’t care if we’re actually leaving behind scars.

In each destination we visited, I saw evidence of someone trying to say “I was here.” It broke my heart to see this. 

 And it’s not just the Ferngully side of me, it’s about respect. I truly believe we get so much more enjoyment out of the places we visit if we respect the earth enough to just enjoy what she has to offer rather than forcing our stain upon her. Don’t forget – we are guests of these beautiful places. We don’t go to another’s home and carve our names into their kitchen counters. If you do, please let me know before I invite you over.

While driving through the National Reservation near Arequipa, we saw trash littering the highways in abundance. Our guide informed us that certain tour buses will collect trash on the bus and simply throw it out the window to avoid proper storage and disposal. This reiterated to me how important it is to work with companies that use their funds to support true, sustainable eco-tourism.

  
I propose a challenge. Before doing anything that has any impact on the environment, I suggest we all ask “Will this area be better for my actions? Will I leave this place better than I found it?”

Perhaps we can start asking this of our travels, then of our interactions with the people around us.  If we all work together to leave this world just a little bit better than we found it, perhaps we can undo all the damage we’ve done.